X-iting changes: Elon Musk's Twitter takeover first anniversary

It has been a whole year since Elon Musk took the Twitter throne, and in this time, big changes have swept through the social media platform, now rebranded as X, the everything app. Among the notable updates are extended post lengths, along with the most recent addition of video and audio calls. However, the past year has also seen the introduction of various limitations for free users, including a cap on daily tweet/post readings.

Now, X is marking its first anniversary, with Linda Yaccarino, CEO of the company, reflecting on the journey in a blog post. She dives into X's performance under new management, sharing insights on average platform usage and unveiling a vision for a global payment system.

As per the blog, the average user spends 32 minutes daily on X, contributing to a whopping 7.8 billion active minutes per day collectively. Yaccarino proudly notes that “over half a billion of the world's most informed and influential people” visit X monthly, with an average of 1.5 million new sign-ups per day.

While these figures fall slightly short of Elon Musk's initial expectations, the company is still on course, albeit at a slower pace.

Premium users on X are sticking around three times longer than those who aren't shelling out, and it is no surprise- X is throwing some perks at its premium users in the form of payouts. According to the blog post, the company has handed out $20 million to creators.

However, third-party research doesn't align with all the positivity. For instance, X is putting on a happy face, saying advertisers are making a comeback and it is all about keeping users safe by reaching out to different groups. But Reuters spilled the tea earlier this month, reporting that ad revenue on the platform is actually taking a nosedive.

The blog post delves into new features like X Hiring, enabling businesses to post job listings directly. It also mentions safety and freedom of expression, with the company stating that X “is now a place where everyone can freely express themselves, so long as they do so within the bounds of the law.”

However, regulators worldwide express dissatisfaction with X's misinformation combat efforts, with the EU finding X is struggling to fight misinformation on its platform and Australia also joining in getting X in trouble after the company reportedly removed a tool to report election misinformation.

Yaccarino wraps up the blog post with a glimpse into X's future ambitions. The platform aims to be Musk's envisioned "everything app" and is actively developing new Payments feature for transactions and purchases. “We want money on X to flow as freely as information and conversation,” states Yoccarino. X has secured initial money transmitter licenses in multiple states, paving the way for a global payment system launch soon.